-
Press Release: 2022 Financial Health Pulse: Financial Health Drops in U.S. for First Time in Five Years of Measurement
New data shows erosion of financial health gains from pandemic, led by significant declines in middle- and upper-income earners, black people and women.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
- Region
- North America
-
FirstBank Secures $150 Million Afreximbank Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) To Support Businesses In Nigeria
Afreximbank’s financial support will be accessible to FirstBank customers involved in manufacturing and importing healthcare-related products.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Press Release: 2022 FinHealth Spend Report Marks First-Ever Decline in Ten Year History of Tracking Fees and Interest Paid for Everyday Financial Services
Reduction attributed to student loan debt moratorium, pandemic-related decline in credit card debt, and government stimulus funds allowing many to avoid high-cost lending; but underserved populations still pay a greater proportion of fees and a number of factors indicate a likely rise in the year ahead.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
-
Press Release: DFC Seeks to Increase Climate Finance Partnerships on Earth Day
On Earth Day, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) hosted “Investing in a Sustainable Future – Climate Finance in Emerging Markets."
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
- Region
- Global
-
Supporting Financial Health Startups: Four Lessons for Impact Investors, Foundations and Governments
Over the past few years, Village Capital has run Finance Forward, a global coalition to support early-stage entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions around financial health. Village Capital CEO Allie Burns shares highlights from a new report that analyzed data from the 1,000+ companies that applied to the program around the world. The report paints a picture of the global state of financial health startups, and offers lessons for impact investors, foundations and government leaders who hope to grow the ecosystem for financial health innovation.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
-
How Behavioral Science Can Improve Digital Services: Exploring the Impact of an Innovative Accelerator Program on Social Enterprises in Latin America
Though behavioral science is a relatively new field of study in Latin America, it is increasingly being leveraged to address financial inclusion and other needs in the region – and it has particular relevance to social enterprises working in the digital space. Juan Pablo Marichi at New Ventures and Santiago Mesa at Acceso explore how New Ventures' SUMA accelerator program has applied the study of behavioral science to the issues of financial health and inclusion, and share some lessons that participants – including Acceso – have learned in the process.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Technology
-
Making Financial Health a Global Reality: Four Strategic Directions for Increasing Customer-Centricity and Business Growth
Financial service providers that focus on improving their customer experience report growing revenue and greater profits. Yet as Pallavi Dhakal, Ankita Singh and Neha Kumar at UNCDF’s Centre for Financial Health point out, despite some notable progress, the financial services sector still has far to go to achieve customer-centricity – particularly in emerging markets. They share in-depth research that explores how providers in these markets can become more customer-centric by prioritizing financial health in their business strategy.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Linking the Needs of Customers and Providers: A Framework for Effective Financial Health Measurement
Many financial service providers (FSPs) want to improve the financial health of their low-income users, but they often struggle to measure it. According to Nishant Kumar and Sonal Agrawal at Lakshya, one key challenge is that many FSPs don't see the business benefits of investing in financial health measurement. They share three principles that can help providers understand the distinct needs of different user groups, and develop a measurement methodology that links customers with interventions that impact their financial health – while boosting the FSPs' bottom line.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment